


Summer of '91

by bastardoftherealm



Category: KOllOK 1991 (Web Series)
Genre: (imma take a few liberties), Gen, Mentions of self-harm, Mostly Fluff, Somewhat canon divergent, ace/aro billy, actually scratch that, bi mallory if you squint, diary entries, hints of skyem, inner angst, it's all up to my dumbass brain, the is so fucking self-indulgent you wouldn't BELIEVE, this will update....somewhat frequently, which can never make up its mind EVER
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:21:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24317218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bastardoftherealm/pseuds/bastardoftherealm
Summary: Following the death of Clarity Anah, and the subsequent saving of the town of Kollok, came a calm, quiet summer. One filled with D&D sessions, trips to the beach, and definitely not using their powers.Except we never heard about what happened that summer, and how our five current passengers, along with a few stragglers, really became friends. Until now.
Relationships: Mickey Jones/Tibby Devin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	1. From The Journal Of Billy Baker

_ Journal, _

_ Things have been pretty calm since we buried Rachel. I think everyone’s been doing okay. I haven’t really spoken to Skye or Marcus since we went to go do it. And I know, Skye’s busy with Bucket and being FBI in training and everything, and I mean, Marcus leaving for Synchroneity wasn’t great, and all of us really miss him, but it’s what he had to do, right? What both of them had to do? To protect us?  _

_ Everything is really confusing right now, and I’m just hoping that it’ll all eventually go back to normal. Real normal. Normal, normal.  _

_ All of us agreed not to use our powers. And so far I haven’t, I haven’t really had the need to. I’m just worried that something bad is going to happen again, and that I might have to destroy more universes because of it. If that even really happens, a weird guy in a cave told me that after all.  _

_ In other news, I got a job at the lake this summer. Apparently as a gesture of “goodwill” or some bullshit, Synchroneity cleaned up Crater Lake, and for the first time like ever, it’s clean enough to be an actual functional beach. I’m going to be a lifeguard there, basically Kollok’s own Baywatch. Mallory says that I’m looking like I’m really getting in shape, whatever that means.  _

_ I’ve been working on this new system too, Teenagers in Outer Space, and Mallory agreed to play with us, so it’s not just gonna be Tibby and me in my basement playing the same games over and over again. _

_ I’m just hoping this summer is gonna be normal, and not the shitstorm these past few months have been.  _

_ \- Billy Prime _


	2. An Ode To Taco Bell Express

Mallory Jenkins stands outside of the combination gas station and Taco Bell Express, his Taco Bell brand visor crumpled in his hands. 

This is really the last place he wants to be right now. 

He doesn’t even really need a job anymore, his inheritance alone will set him up for the next few years, especially if he still plans on not heading off to college. 

But Mallory doesn’t know what he wants with himself. With this town.

Everything he’s ever known, everyone he’s ever really loved, well, they’re either dead, or have abandoned him into the arms of some shady company that he’s pretty sure is behind everything wrong in the town of Kollok. _Looking at you Marcus Bennett,_ he curses softly.

Still. He’s here. Working a shift by himself because his only other coworker called in ‘sick’, and his manager’s off tonight. 

It’s a Wednesday evening, so hopefully it'll be somewhat quiet. He might even have a chance to read that comic book he stashed in his back pocket.  Tibby had given it to him when he’d come over. 

Mallory broke his hand earlier in the day. He'd told Tibby that he’d hurt it after accidentally slamming it into the hinges of his car door, except that was a bold faced lie. Mallory didn’t want to tell him that he’d done it on purpose. That he wanted to feel it...just to know...just to...

Tibby had been on his way back from dropping off Mickey, apparently the two of them had gone to the library together that day.  _ What fucking nerds _ , he’d thought to himself, hiding the creeping jealousy that crawled its way up his skin.  Tibby had showed him the collection of old comics he’d picked up, and he gave Mallory the issue that he’d finished while waiting for Mickey to find the books she was looking for.

Mallory clocks in, heading into the back to watch for cars at the window and listen for the doorbell at the front of the Taco Bell entrance. It isn’t long before a steady stream of people filter through the building, mostly high teenagers looking to cash in on cheap munchies, and adults getting off of their own late night shifts.

He’s sitting in the back room with his feet kicked up, reading the comic, when he sees a familiar red Jeep fly in off the road.

“Heya Hawkins,” he croons into the headset as the sensor beeps. “What can I getcha?”

“Nothing from you,” Skye Hawkins shouts back. “Isn’t there anyone else working that can get me my tacos?” 

“Just me, Hawkins.” 

There’s a long pause before a grumbled. “Three soft tacos, a baja blast, and one cheesy gordita crunch please.” 

“All for yourself?” Mallory hangs out the window, spotting a man in a suit sitting in the passenger seat. “Oh, I see you’ve got that FBI guy with you.” 

Skye pulls her car forward, rolling down the window slowly with a scowl on her face. She too, is wearing a suit and tie, “we’re both FBI.”

“FBI and FBI in training.” The man next to her corrects. “It is lucky. That I even allowed her to drive us here.” 

“We’re FBI in ties!” She exclaims, turning her head to the man, grinning. “Same difference, Bucket.” 

“I thought that you’d already left town,” Mallory raises an eyebrow. “Billy was saying something about that the other day.” 

“We’re clearing up everything at the old school.” Bucket replies for Skye. “And then I will be taking Ms. Hawkins to Department C headquarters for probational training.” 

“Which means that I’ll get a  _ real _ badge. Because I already have the real gun” Skye reaches to her side and pulls out a gun. Mallory leaps backwards as she pretends to shoot it. 

“Holy _SHIT_ Hawkins, careful.” 

Bucket plucks the gun from her hands with ease, “I just gave this back to you. And I already have to take it away again? What have we said, about responsible gun ownership?” 

“Noooo,” Skye grabs for it, but Bucket swats her hands away. “I just wanted to show off a little.” 

Bucket pushes the gun into a holster at his side and turns to Mallory. “How much, for the tacos?”

“Uh, that’ll be $4.89.” 

The agent digs into his pocket and pulls out a shiny silver card. Skye grabs for it, insisting loudly that she says she’ll pay, but he manages to evade her grasping hands, reaching up to Mallory. 

Mallory takes it and swipes it through the machine, inputting a few numbers before handing it back. 

“I’ll get your stuff for you at the window up ahead.” 

Skye nods and pulls forward as Mallory heads into the kitchen area, putting together their order before wrapping it up in a few bags and heading back towards the pick-up window. The glass is slightly ajar, so he can hear the two talking through the gap.

“-I thought that you were going to say goodbye.” Bucket’s voice filters through quietly. 

“I did, when we last saw them.”

“What about Embeth Pegg?” 

There’s a slight pause, and Mallory keeps himself back against the wall so that he can hear them better. He remembers Tibby mentioning other kids with powers, and he knew the name Pegg well. Mrs. Pegg was his therapist, had been ever since his dad died, so Embeth must be her daughter.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Skye replies softly. “She doesn’t even remember me anyway. She would never like me...like that. Whatever happened in the other universe-” Her voice peters off into grumbling under her breath. “ _ What _ is taking him so long.” 

Mallory waits another second to see if she’ll continue, and when she doesn’t, he turns the corner, opening up the window. “Here ya go,” he hands Skye the food. 

She takes it, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Thank you...Mallory.” 

“You are very welcome,” he grins. 

“Get that look off your face before I slap it off.” She speeds off before he can reply, and Mallory rolls his eyes with a grin as he slinks to the backroom to read the rest of the comic.

_ Yeah _ , he thinks,  _ this is gonna be a weird summer _ . 


	3. D&D and Dad

Embeth Pegg sits in her garage, her father sitting in front of her as he ecstatically explains the monstrous being her party is up against.

“You see the beast coming for you, its maw dripping with bloody malice.” His fingers splay outwards as that stupid grin she loves so much trickles its way over his face. “It roars so loudly that you and the rest of the party have to cover your ears, okay, and roll initiative.” 

Em laughs as she does so, waiting for her dad to finish scratching down his own rolls on a set of faded yellow notecards. 

“Hey dad?”

“Yeah pumpkin?”

“Is it okay if we don’t play DND every night this week?”

Jay’s cards slump to the table as his eyebrows knit together in worry. “Do you not like the adventure I’ve been planning out for you?” He cringes a little, “too much SLAP this time?”

“No, no, dad I love your adventures, I’d never not want to play, it’s just, I was invited to another game.” 

His eyes widen. “Really?” Jay sets down his notecards and grins. “With who?” His eyebrows wiggle a few times before his face drops, “wait, you know what your mother says, I shouldn’t pressure you into talking about your love life.” 

“Dad, it’s fine, it’s just some kids from school.” She pauses, “Tibby Devin invited me, apparently Billy Baker’s DMing. And though he’s a piece of shit-”

“Swear jar-”

Em digs into her pocket and pulls out a loose quarter, tossing it into the jar that sits at the edge of the table. It often sits there, as more than one curse word is usually let loose during a normal session of their DND games. 

“Mallory Jenkins is playing.”

“Jenkins?” Jay’s face takes on a strange expression, but he shakes it off. “One of your mom’s new clients?”

“Yeah, mom told me to be nice to him. Apparently he’s had it rough.”

“I can’t imagine losing a dad that young, poor guy.”

Em shakes her head, “I can’t imagine what I’d do if I lost you. I think that-” She raises her hands, “y’know, I don’t even really want to think about it.” 

Jay smiles in a way that crinkles up his eyes. “I’m glad about that.” He flexes his fingers and lifts his head. “So, do you need help on a character sheet, or do you want to use one you’ve already made.” 

“Sure,” Em grins. “I’d love to.” 

Her dad practically cries, “aw honey please never grow up.” 

Together, they create another character for her, before Em’s mom sticks her head out the door of the garage to tell them to  _ please go to bed _ . 

Em lays in bed that night, thinking. She’s worried. There’s this gnawing dread in her stomach she hadn’t even fathomed before. Just talking about the possibility of her dad dying...hurts. Mallory’s dad died so quickly, who was to say that hers couldn’t die just the same. 

Skye had said that her powers were dangerous, that they would keep her lonely and drive her insane. But what if she could use them to save someone? What if it was worth it then? 

To save someone’s life? 

Would it be worth it then?

Skye. Em hasn’t thought about her in a while either. She was always so odd around Em, and Em has never really figured out why. Apparently something had happened between them in Prime A, something that Skye wouldn’t elaborate one. 

The idea that Skye Hawkins,  _ the great and powerful Skye Hawkins! _ , seemed almost afraid to talk to her? It’s strangely sobering and alienating at the same time. Could Skye have had...feelings for her?

Popular, totally straight, cool kid Skye. No way in hell.

Em turns over and flicks off her light. 

She wakes up around ten for her shift at eleven at Major Video. As she heads into the store and into the back to clock in, she flips off Cheese, who stands a few aisles away. He sticks his tongue out at her in return, and continues to reshelve the tapes. 

Charlie Marx asks her if she can cover his shift, and she begrudgingly agrees. Better to be on his good side than bad. 

Em heads up to man the front cash register. It’ll be a relatively quiet shift, nobody really wants a movie at eleven in the morning, so she’s not surprised when Cheese comes up front to bother her.

He leans over the counter in his stupid bright feather print button up and half greased-back hair. “Have you watched Weird Science yet?” 

“If I wanted to watch a bunch of dudes jerk off to a robotic lady, I’d go behind the curtain and find something there.” 

“It’s not  _ that _ bad.”

“I’m not watching it even if you paid me to.” 

Cheese turns his head and raises an eyebrow. “What if I did?”

“Why?” Em replies plainly.

“Because neither of us like the same movies, and like, what else are we going to talk about?” 

“You could, I don’t know,” Em flicks a few of the buttons on the register, letting them beep. “Do your fucking job.” She gestures over to the half full bin of returned movies. 

“Alright,” Cheese raises his hands and begins backing away. “Just trying to be friendly.” 

“Right,” she flips him off again, and he does the same back, sticking his tongue out farther this time. “Open it any further and it might fall out of your mouth!” Em yells towards him as he disappears behind another aisle.

If he weren’t so annoying, she might actually consider him a friend.

Em leaves work at about five, picking up some pretzel bites on the way to Billy Baker's house. She arrives to find Mike Hunt walking up the street.

“Embeth, right?” He asks. 

“Yeah,” she replies. “And also hell no, you wait five minutes and then come in, I don’t want it to seem like we came together.”

“Okay?” Mike stops before the walkway up to Billy’s house and waits.

Em rolls her eyes, not actually expecting him to do what she asked. She hops up the steps and knocks on the door, being let in by Billy’s mom. Em gives her pleasantries and is shown to the basement where she heads down the stairs.

“You invited  _ her _ ?” Mallory’s voice is the first thing she hears.

“Yeah he did,” she replies. “What are you going to do about it?” 

_ Dorks _ . Suddenly she’s wondering why she even came. This was probably a mistake.

“I’ve got snacks.” She smacks them down on the table, and the moods of the three boys immediately change as they grapple for them.

As Em sits down, she’s surprised to find that she doesn’t regret it.

And as the session ends, she actually thinks she might care a little more about these dumb fucks.


	4. In A Park Somewhere

Laura Bennett leans against a tree as she watches a group of kids mess with the swing set, spinning it around and around until they’re dizzy enough to fall over.  She misses that feeling, the last bits of childhood that grew up around her.  It’s one way to connect with the things she lost in her time at Synchroneity. 

Everything makes her so angry these days, every reminder of the life she lost, every reminder of the eight years stolen from her. She saw Lelah last week. Nearly took her head off in the process. 

Laura’s an angry fighter when she needs to be. Ever since she got her freedom from Synchroneity, from the woman that wore her mother’s face, she’d grasped onto it like a drowning man to flotsam.

Marcus...he'd been there when she’d been discharged, but he'd been different. 

He had smelled different, she noticed that first. The Marcus she’d known had smelled like the leather of his varsity jacket, the remnants of the Taco Bell Express, and a heavy warmth of laundry detergent.  This one smelled clean, but not fresh, sterile. Like hands washed to the bone with medical soap.  He’d worn a smile that didn’t fit his face. It didn’t reach quite far enough, it never grew as wide as she remembered it. 

They haven’t spoken since.

She breathes in the summer afternoon, letting the sunlight warm her face as she steps out from under the shade of the leaves, trekking across the field to finish her work for the day. 

It's then that she notices a boy standing near the park pavilion service entrance, where all of the park workers clocked in and out during the day.

Laura has the strangest notion that she knows the boy. He’s tall, and a little chubby, with skin like a cherub, pale pinkish red from the sun. His hair is a wavy mess the color of sand, and as he turned towards her, his eyebrows are knit together in a look of perpetual worry. 

“Hi there, can I help you with something?” She tips her head to the side, and the boy spooks abruptly. 

He clams up, wide green eyes blinking at her, mouth slightly agape. “Uhhhh.” 

Laura raises an eyebrow, opening her mouth to speak again. “Is there something wrong?”

The kid looks back and forth around them, before blinking again and staring back at her. “Um. Yes. I’ve lost my dog. Well, it’s not my dog, it’s my neighbor’s dog, I agreed to watch it while she was gone, and I let it off the leash for a few minutes to let it run, because that’s what I thought you were supposed to do with dogs, but apparently not...because he’s gone.”

“Yeah you usually don’t let dogs you haven’t trained yourself off the leash,” Laura laughs.

The boy goes red at the tips of his ears, and Laura feels a sudden tug towards the boy. She knows she can’t be much older than him, but there’s an overwhelming sense of protection towards him that overwhelms her all at once. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t tease you. I’m Laura.” 

“Tibby,” the boy responds. “Devin. Tibby Devin.” He nods, more to himself than to her as he begins to regard the ground with the same nod. “You’re Laura. Right.” 

“Yeah, uh, that’s my name.” She nods. “So what’s this dog’s name?” 

“Scoop.” Tibby lifts his head suddenly. 

“Have you tried calling for it?” 

Tibby’s eyes go wide again, and he shakes his head. 

Laura shakes her head and smiles. “Where did you last see him?” 

“I’ll show you,” Tibby nods again, heading over toward the South side of the park. 

As they walk, Laura cups her hands over her mouth. “Scoooooop. Scoop! Scoopie! Scoooooooop.” It’s not long before Tibby is doing the same.

In between shouts Laura turns her head towards Tibby. “So what exactly is a non dog owner doing watching a dog?”

“My neighbor goes out of town every weekend, and I need money for comics, and the kid that normally watches her dog just moved across the country, so I was the next kid in line, apparently.” 

Laura hums in understanding. “Comics, hmm?” 

“Yeah!” There’s an excitement in his eyes as he lowers his hands from around his mouth. “Do you read them much?” 

“Nah,” she shrugs. “Just what my brother used to leave around the house. I like some aspects of them, but sometimes the art style is...not always very flattering for women.” 

Tibby’s ears go pink again, and he just bobs his head up and down. “Brother, huh?” 

Laura pauses for a moment, “yeah I have a brother, he-” A flash of brown and white catches her attention as a dog leaps into the air and tackles Tibby to the ground.

Tibby is somewhere between laughter and panic as the dog begins to lick his face. “Scoop, hey, Scoop. Please get off. ScOOP.” Tibby manages to connect Scoop’s leash back on, and push himself up, half covered in grass and dog slobber. 

Laura grins and holds out a hand to help him up. “There you go, found your Scoop.” 

“Do you want to play D&D?” The words tumble out of Tibby’s mouth.

“D and D?” 

“It’s a really fun game and I play with some friends every once and awhile, and you seem really cool, and I’m sorry if this is like, really forward and weird, but it’d be like, really cool if you’d come and play with us.” 

Laura feels that pang in her chest again. The kid is nice, and it’s...she swears she’d met him before. 

“Yeah, uh, sure. Where is it?” 

Tibby’s eyes light up. “Do you know Billy Baker? Of course you don’t know Billy Baker, but it’s at his house on Thursdays, do you have a pen, I can write the address on your hand.”

“Or,” Laura tips her head to the side. “I could get you paper and a pen.”

“Or that,” Tibby cracks a smile. “That works too.” 


	5. The Private Thoughts of Mickey Jones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi. sorry it's been a month. heRE'S A NEW CHAPTER!

Mickey Jones sits in her wheelchair, watching over the city below. It took her hours, but she managed to wheel all the way up here by herself.

She’s surprised how much she took everything for granted before she lost her legs. Walking to work, running from the monsters that plagued the Radar, getting up the stairs. 

Mickey hasn’t been here for, _jesus_ , at least two months. She used to come here all the time, trying to clear her head.

It’s nice, being this far away from the city, the quick trip downtown, across the bridge, and then through the winding path that would bring her to the top of the mountainside. Mickey is glad for Skye’s help before she left, the new upgraded wheelchair, complete with off-road tires, a lightweight metal frame, and a wonderful lack of easily accessible handles have made life seriously easier. 

No more dumbass kids trying to grab her and wheel her down the hallway.

Mickey misses the ability to beat them up, but still relishes in grinding over the toes of those who spite her. 

She can see Crater Lake from here, where Synchroneity is hard at work cleaning, trying anything to win back the town’s favor again. They brought out their giant machines and everything, and sometimes she can catch glimpses of a familiar pantsuit and painfully tight black bun as the notorious Ms. Wu barks orders to her subordinates. 

Mickey thinks of Marcus in that moment. She hasn’t seen him in a few weeks, none of them have. He didn’t even show up to graduation, and neither did his parents. 

She thinks it’s even stranger that she’s seen more of his older sister than she’s seen him, and she only met Laura less than a week ago. 

Mickey leans back in her chair, pulling her backpack over from where it’s been hooked onto the back. She draws out her notebook and begins to write, scratching out all of the words she’s been keeping inside.

Her dad working the same job as her, her relationship with Tibby, the way her fucking powers still scare her. 

Mickey wants to cry. She’s wanted to cry for weeks, but she’s kept herself from it. 

Sometimes, when it gets hard, they’ll get choked up in the back of her throat when she talks with Tibby, holding his hand gently as he strokes his thumb over the back of her palm.

She doesn’t know how she didn’t see him like this sooner. Tibby comes off at first like Billy’s dorky dumbass friend who has had his head stuck in comics for too long, and that’s not all untrue, but it’s not entirely him.

He’s a full ass person, warm and kind when she least expects. Tibby’s heart is more open than any of the Radar’s, he’s good, truly good. The rest of them feel too broken to ever be really good again. 

Mickey sucks in a heavy breath before closing her notebook and slipping it into her bag and wheeling herself back down the hill. She heads back through town, the heat wave slipping sweat down her back as she pushes herself forward. 

At the bridge between the North and South side of Kollok, she checks her watch. She’s got time. Mickey closes her eyes, reaching out to her powers, and letting it flicker through her. She’s been practicing recently, getting better to the point that when she looks for Tibby, she can begin to see through his eyes. It’s not quite perfect, but it’s somewhere between a feeling and a visual. 

Tibby’s with Billy. And they’re doing something stupid, she knows it. 

Mickey begins heading towards Billy’s house, riding down the hills and huffing her way up them. She wheels up to the front door, and knocks on it to be greeted by Billy’s mom.

“Uh, hello Ms. Jones, is Billy expecting you?” Gemma Baker has one hand on her hip, the other dragging through the faded red of her hair. To this day, Mickey still can’t tell whether the color is natural or dyed. 

“No, but I grabbed some comics on my way here for him and Tibby.”

“Alright, I’ll get them.” She cups a hand around her mouth. “BILLY YOUR FRIEND MICKEY’S HERE!” 

Mickey keeps herself from wincing at how eardrum shatteringly loud she manages to be. Gemma turns back to her with a smile, “he should be up in a second.” 

Billy comes thumping up the stairs, blinking blankly behind his glasses. Tibby nearly pushes past him as he comes running up after. 

“Mickey what are you-” Tibby starts.

“Yeah Mickey what are you doing here?” 

“I uh, got off work early, and I knew Tibby would be here.” 

Tibby looks around, eyes blown wide in the way she’s begun to love. “Like, you knew because I wasn’t with you, or you... _knew_.” 

Mickey takes a breath and lies through her teeth. “Yeah no, I knew you two chuckle fucks would be together.” 

Tibby nods like it makes sense, but Billy takes an extra second before nodding. “Huh.” He cocks his head to the side. “Did you need something?” 

“I just felt like, we don’t hang out anymore, and if you two are together, then we could like...hang out or something?”

“Oooh yeah, Mickey could join us in DND! I have so many character sheets I made with her in mind.” Tibby introjects as quickly as he can. 

“Tibby-” Billy starts.

“I mean, sure, we had fun with your ‘teenagers in outer space’ or whatever.” Mickey crosses her arms over her chest. “But just like, don’t be weird.” 

After some prodding from Tibby, Billy agrees with a huff, and the two help Mickey get downstairs into Billy’s basement. They start back into whatever campaign the two were working through. Mickey doesn’t understand a lick of it, but she likes playing the sorcerer Tibby made her. 

It feels nice to be able to use powers without some many fucking consequences for once. 

They ask if Mickey wants to stay for dinner, and she pretends that she doesn’t agree right away. Her dad’s been away at the bar more and more since starting at the movie theater. The more miserable he seems, the more she feels. 

It’d be nice to stay away from home for a little longer than she needs to. 

The three of them order pizza and play until Tibby has to leave, and Mickey feels her stomach sink as they help her back upstairs.

For a while, the only remaining original members of the Kollok Radar sit on the front steps of Billy’s house as Tibby waits for his mom. 

Tibby picks at a scab on his knee as he and Billy talk about the session from tonight. They invite Mickey back again, both somewhat enthusiastic about getting the whole gang into it.

As Tibby’s mom pulls up in front of Billy’s house, he kisses Mickey on the cheek, (while Billy pretends to gag in the background), before waving goodbye.

The two watch the car pull around the corner, and Mickey leans back into her chair as she turns her head up to the sky. 

It’s a cool evening in Kollok, and the smell of humidity hangs in the air. 

“When was the last time it was just the two of us?” Mickey says out loud. 

Billy shrugs. “A while.” 

“Does it feel weird to you?” She sits up to look him in the eyes. The porch light reflects off of his glasses. “Being the only ones left. Skye left us for the FBI, made her parents forget her, made everyone but us remember what she did. Marcus is missing, or at Synchroneity, or something. Doesn’t it feel weird to you that he hasn’t said anything to us.”

“I think he’s just trying to protect us,” Billy says softly. “But he did get touched by Clarity, so like, who knows.” 

“Everything’s kinda changing.” 

“Yeah like you and Tibby,” Billy laughs. “I still can’t believe you two are dating, like, gross.” 

Mickey elbows him in the side the best she can, and he just chuckles as he manages to move away, only getting barely whiffed on the side by her arm. 

“I meant like, how there are so many kids with powers now, and how we’re trying not to use them-”

“You were lying earlier, right?”

“What?”

Billy doesn’t change his expression, but she can feel the poignant strike of his gaze on her. “About using your abilities. You looked for Tibby on purpose.” 

“Yeah, well, we don’t know what my powers do when I search for someone, just what happens when I...move Egos.” 

“But I destroy universes, we still don’t know what yours do.” Billy turns his face away. “You still need to be careful.” 

“Rich coming from you,” Mickey snorts. 

There’s a momentary pause. “Mickey do you need a place to stay tonight?” 

“What?” 

“I just wondered why you stayed this long.” 

“No, no, it’s fine at home. My dad and I are cool. It’s just...I feel like I barely see you and Tibby together anymore, and I barely see you.” 

Billy just nods. He stands, and in a rare gesture, he leans down to hug her. 

Mickey tightens her arms around him. 

She wishes he couldn’t tell when she was lying. 

Stupid fucking coma boy, what in the world made her love this idiot so much? What made her so lucky to get not just Tibby, but a whole goddamn group of dumbasses that she’s felt more for than anyone in her entire life.

She lets go of Billy and socks him in the gut gently. 

“I’ll see you for Dungeons and Dragons you weirdo.” 


End file.
